On Friday June 9th, a U.S. court upheld a previous FCC ruling that requires all VoIP providers to make wiretapping capabilities available to the U.S. government by May 2007. While various civil rights organizations and technology based companies, including Sun Micro Systems, had fought the original August 2004 decision, their voices could not convince the courts otherwise.
Obviously, the FCC is pleased with the ruling. Jim Dempsey, policy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, however, is a bit dismayed. In an email, Mr. Dempsey states, "This decision threatens the privacy rights of innocent Americans as well as the ability of technology companies to innovate freely." Others involved in opposing the decision fear that the cost of implementing the wiretapping capabilities may wind up being passed on to the consumer.